Roll jacks

ABSTRACT

A jack particularly suited for lifting roll loads has means for pivoting a first arm about an end of the arm pivoted on a support. A load lifting side of the first arm ends in a hook at a free end of the arm. The hook retains the load on the arm for lifting the load by pivoting the arm. A second arm has a retaining hook at a free end of the arm which end is positioned intermediate the ends of the first arm. The second arm is pivoted on the first arm for moving the hook of the second arm above or below the lifting side of the first arm. Means operable for retaining the hooked end of the second arm above the lifting side of the first arm are provided. The hook of the second arm then retains the load to effectively shorten the lifting arm of the jack.

United States Patent [191 Kuconis [4 1 Dec. 10, 1974 ROLL JACKS [76]Inventor: Barney E. Kuconis, 135 McKay St.,

Beverly, Mass. 01915 [22] Filed: May 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 359,869

Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Attorney, Agent, or FirmWolf,Greenfield & Sacks [5 ABSTRACT A jack particularly suited for liftingroll loads has means for pivoting a first arm about an end of the armpivoted on a support. A load lifting side of the first arm ends in ahook at a free end of the arm. The hook retains the load on the arm forlifting the load by pivoting the arm. A second arm has a retaining hookat a free end of the arm which end is positioned intermediate the endsof the first arm. The second arm is pivoted on the first arm for movingthe hook of the second arm above or below the lifting side of the firstarm. Means operable for retaining the hooked end of the second arm abovethe lifting side of the first arm are provided. The hook of the secondarm then retains the load to effectively shorten the lifting arm of thejack.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ROLL JACKS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION etyof articles. These lifting devices or jacks are often particularlyadapted to the articles to be lifted. For ex ample, one would expect ahouse jack to be different from a device for lifting eggs. The extent oflifting required also affects the design of such devices. For example,one would expect an oil well rig to be different from a drill press.

One article of present industrial utility which presents its own uniquelifting problem is large rolls of paper, wire or a variety of otherproducts. Such rolls are made about a shaft or hub without'a rimextending beyond the circumference of the roll. With such rolls, theamount of material comprising the roll determines the diameter of theroll.. A roll which has been partially used or simply manufactured in adifferent quantity from another roll of like material then has adifferent diameter.

Rolls of material are used in a variety of industrial operations. Oneexample is the use of large rolls of pasteboard in the manufacture ofpasteboard boxes. Such rolls are often mounted in machines for utilizingthe material of the roll by unwinding the material from the roll. Whenone roll is completely unwound, it is replaced by a full roll. The fullroll must be lifted into the machine. Since the rolls may vary in size,the machine cannot be constructed to readily receive a succession ofsuch rolls without lifting the rolls. Moreover, the rolls areconveniently moved from one place to another by rolling them on theircircumferences. In such practice, the rolls are'not accompanied bydevices for placing the roll in the machine.

When the roll is supported on its circumference, the center of the rollwill vary in height from the surface supporting the roll according tothe radius of the roll. Of course, the radius of the roll depends uponthe amount of material comprising the roll, the more material thegreater the radius. Rolls of more material will also weigh more thanrolls of less material to present a greater weight to be lifted into themachine. A device .suitable for lifting such rolls into a machine mustbe able to lift the largest such roll to be presented to the machine. Asa general rule, the more powerful a lifting device, the greater itscost. Accordingly, each machine utilizing a roll of material and havinga device for lifing the roll into the machine has required an expensivelifting device suitable for lifting the heaviest roll to be presented tothe machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention toprovide a jack particularly suited for lifting large, heavy rolls ofmaterial into the machine and readily adaptable to lift smaller, lighterrolls of material into the machine.

The invention provides a jack constructed to take advantage of therelationship between the radius and the weight of a roll of material tobe particularly suited for lifting such roll loads. This jack has afirst arm pivoted at one end on a support and having a load retaininghook at the other, free end. Means for pivotally moving the first armare provided. A second arm also having a retaining hook at a free endpositioned intermediate ends of the first arm is pivoted on the firstarm for moving the hook of the second arm above or below a lifting sideof the first arm which side ends in the hook of the first arm. Meansoperable for retaining the second arm in a position with its hooked endraised above the lifting side of the first arm are provided. The hook ofthe second arm then engages the load to effectively shorten the liftingarm of the jack.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment which is intended toillustrate and not to limit the invention will now be described withreference to drawings of the embodiment, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment showing lifting movementof the arms;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with certainparts in a different position; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with a secondarm in a raised position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a roll 10 ofmaterial having an axle 12 extending from an end of the roll along theaxis of rolling of the material of the roll. The roll is to be placed ona portion 14 of a machine for utilizing the material of the roll. A jackgenerally at 16 has an arm 18 pivoted at one end on a support 20 andhaving a book 22 at an opposite, free end. A roll lifting side 24 of thearm faces the axle of the roll and ends at the hook 22. A piston andcylinder 26 are operatively connected to the arm 18 for rotating the armabout its pivot. Such rotation of the arm engages the lifting side ofthe arm with the axle of the roll. Continued rotation of the arm liftsthe axle to lift the roll. Of course, a jack similar to that generallyat 16 may be disposed at an end of the roll opposite that shown foruniformly lifting the roll.

A second arm 28 is pivotally connected to the first arm at one end witha hook 30 at an opposite, free end of the second arm intermediate endsof the first arm. A removable pin 32 extends from the first arm adjacentthe second arm. With the pin 32 removed from the first arm, the secondarm may be pivoted to dispose the hook 30 of the second arm above thelifting side 24 of the first arm. The pin 32 is then returned to thefirst arm to be operable to retain the hook 30 above the lifting side ofthe first arm. The hook of the second arm can then engage a shaft of alarge roll after which pivoting of the first arm will lift the roll.

The axle 12 has teeth on a pinion portion 34 positioned to engagecooperative teeth of a rack 36 on the machine portion 14. A similar rackand pinion portion at an opposite end of the roll, not shown, cooperateswith the pinion portion and rack 34 and 36 to control rolling movementof the roll along the machine portion 14. The teeth of the cooperativepinion portions and racks prevent slippage ofthe pinion relative to therack which would turn the rack toward or away from the machine portion14. With the cooperative engagement of the pinion portion and rack, theroll 10 can then be moved parallel to the machine portion 14 for propermounting in the machine.

The axle 12 has a further portion 38 extending from the pinion portionaway from the roll. The portion 38 is of reduced diameter relative tothe pinion portion to provide a positioning shoulder 40 atthe transitionfrom the axle portion 34 to portion 38. The shoulder 40 and asimilar'shoulder on an axle at an opposite end of the roll, not shown,are spaced relative to the arm 18 and a similar arm of another jackadjacent the opposite end of the roll, not shown, to closely pass alonga side of the arm 18 as the roll is moved along the arm toward themachine. If the roll tends to rotate about an axis normal to the path ofmovement, a leading or trailing portion of the shoulder 40 relative tothe direction of movement will then engage the adjacent side of the arm18 to provide a resistance to further rotation of the roll. The spacingof the shoulder 40 from the adjacent side of the arm 18 is such that therotation of the roll permitted by the shoulder is less than the distancebetween adjacent teeth on the rack over the width of the rack. In thisway, proper positioning of the roll and meshing engagement of the pinionportion 34 and rack 36 are assured. Movement of the roll from thesupporting surface to the machine is thus constrained to straight lineentry movement of the roll into the machine.

FIG. 2 shows the roll in a position lifted by the arm 18 and, inphantom, supported on a surface before engagement with the arm 18.Looking first at the phantom, pre-engagement position of the roll andarm, it is seen that the point of engagement between the axle 12 and thearm 18 will be below the hook 30 of the second arm considered relativeto the first arm from the pivot toward the roll supporting surface. Sucha roll is here considered a small roll having a corresponding smallweight.

Fluid pressure is then supplied to an inlet port 42 of piston andcylinder 26 to drive the piston, not shown, downward to the positionshown in FIG. 2. Another port 44 of the piston and cylinder is vented.The piston and cylinder is mounted on the support by a pivot 46. Apiston rod 50 connected to the piston at one end is pivotally connectedto a lever 52 at its other end. The lever 52 is fixedly connected to ashaft 54 which is also fixedly connected to the arm 18. The shaft 54 ismounted for rotation in the support. Movement of the piston then drawsthe connected piston rod, lever 52, shaft 54 and arm 18 into theposition shown in FIG. 2.

As the arm 18 moves from the position shown in phantom to the otherposition shown in FIG. 2, the lifting side 24 of the arm 18 engages theaxle 12. The axle is first pushed away from the support until the hook22 at the free end of the lifting side 24 engages the axle. The axle isthen held on the arm to be arcuately lifted by continued movement of thearm 18.

The arm 18 is fixed to the shaft 54 relative to the stroke of the pistonof the piston and cylinder 26 such that the arm will be substantiallyparallel to the rack 36 for transferring the axle from the arm to therack at one end of the stroke. In an alternative embodiment of theinvention the lifting side 24 of the arm may be inclined slightlydownward from the hook 22 toward the rack 36 to facilitate rolling theroll from the arm onto the rack. In another alternative embodiment. thelifting side of the arm l8 may decline slightly from the rack 36 towardthe hook 22 to retain the roll at the hook under gravity until it isdesired to push the roll uphill to the rack 36. The angle of declinefrom the rack 36 to the hook 22 is less than the angle of decline whenthe arm 18 first engages the roll when the roll has been lifted from thesupporting surface by the arm.

FIG. 3 shows a roll 10 larger than the roll 10. An axle 12' of the roll10' similar to the axle 12 is now presented to the arm 18 intermediatethe hook 30 of the second arm and the shaft 54 when the roll 10 issupported on the roll supporting surface. Because the roll 10' is largerthan the roll 10, it is heavier than the roll 10. If the jack were thento operate as described with reference to FIG. 2, the axle 12' would belifted while engaged with the hook 22 of the arm 18. The weight of theroll 10' must then be supported over the entire length of the arm 18.The power required of the cylinder is determined by the relative lengthof arm 18 from the shaft 54 to the hook 22 relative to the arm 52 fromthe shaft 54 to its pivotal connection to the piston rod 50. The powerrequired is thus relatively greater for the heavier roll 10.

However, FIG. 3 shows the second arm pivoted above the lifting side 24of the arm 18 and retained there by the pin 32 under an opposite side ofthe second arm from that which engages the axle. When the piston andcylinder 26 now swings the arm 18, the roll is pushed along the secondarm until it engages the hook 30 of the second arm. Continued movementof the arms then lifts the roll 10'. Now, however, the relative powerrequired in the piston and cylinder 26 is determined by the relativelength of the combination of first and second arms from the rollretaining hook 30 of the second arm to the shaft 54 compared with thelength of the arm 52 from the shaft 54 to its connection to the pistonrod 50. Since the hook 30 is intermediate ends of the arm 18, thedistance from the hook 30 to the shaft 54 is-less than that from thehook 22 to the shaft. Accordingly, the power required in the piston andcylinder is less. Similarly, the arm 18 need only he strong enough tosupport the roll 10' at the hook 30, not at the hook 22.

As described in relation to the arm 18 with reference to FIG. 2, therelative position of the second arm may, in alternative embodiments,assume angles relative to the rack 36 either urging the roll toward therack or retaining the roll at the hook.

In considering the purpose of the jack for lifting a roll forintroduction to a machine, it is clear that a single arm is undesirablebecause a relatively long arm 18 would be required to reach therelatively low axles of small rolls while, at the same time, requiringrelatively greater power of the piston and cylinder .26 and strength ofthe arm 18 when lifting larger rolls.

Further consideration of the purpose of the jack will clearly indicatethat a detent in the side 24 suitable for hooking an axle should itengage the side above the detent would be unsuitable as the axle wouldthen have to be lifted from the detent before it could be moved onto therack36. If the roll has to be otherwise lifted, the jack has failed inits purpose. Still further consideration of the purpose of the jack willindicate that a second hook permanently interposed on the side 24between the hook 22 and the rack 36 is also unsuitable. In this latterarrangement, the roll would have to be lifted over the second hook andthe lifting of the roll again defeats the purpose of the jack. Even ifthe portion of the second hook extending toward the hook 22 wereinclined toward the side 24 so that the roll 12 could be rolled up theincline past the second hook, the roll would then fall from the top ofthe second hook to the roll supporting side 24. The impact of such adrop would again require a stronger arm 18 than the present new anddesire to secure by letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A jack, comprising: a first arm pivoted at one end on a support andhaving a load retaining hook at the other, free end; means for pivotingthe first arm relative to the support; a second arm having a loadretaining hook at a free end positioned intermediate ends of the firstarm and connected to the first arm at the other end for pivotal movementof the hook of the second arm above a load lifting side of the firstarm, which side of the first arm ends in the hook of the first arm; and

means operable for retaining the hooked end of the second arm above thelifting side of the first arm.

2. A jack as in claim 1 wherein the means for moving the arm are a fiuidoperated piston and cylinder.

3. A jack as in claim 1 wherein the means operable for retaining thesecond arm in the raised position is a pin removably extending from thefirst arm.

4. A pair of jacks as in claim 1 each engaging an axle extending fromopposite ends of the load, the axle having shoulders spaced to closelypass along sides of the first arm of each jack for positioning the axlebetween the jacks.

1. A jack, comprising: a first arm pivoted at one end on a support and having a load retaining hook at the other, free end; means for pivoting the first arm relative to the support; a second arm having a load retaining hook at a free end positioned intermediate ends of the first arm and connected to the first arm at the other end for pivotal movement of the hook of the second arm above a load lifting side of the first arm, which side of the first arm ends in the hook of the first arm; and means operable for retaining the hooked end of the second arm above the lifting side of the first arm.
 2. A jack as in claim 1 wherein the means for moving the arm are a fluid operated piston and cylinder.
 3. A jack as in claim 1 wherein The means operable for retaining the second arm in the raised position is a pin removably extending from the first arm.
 4. A pair of jacks as in claim 1 each engaging an axle extending from opposite ends of the load, the axle having shoulders spaced to closely pass along sides of the first arm of each jack for positioning the axle between the jacks. 